I have a lot to say about being in Italy too. The family is very friendly and they help me A LOT. Silvia speaks a little english, so if i dont understand she translates. The family has two houses, because the one in the town (Cutrofiano) gets too hot in the summer, so they go to the other house in the countryside. Both houses are beautiful! In the summer house, they have the most amazing backyard. There is a pool, and a large patio, with a bunch of olive trees growing there too. THEY ALSO HAVE PALM TREES HERE! I have plenty of pictures of the house and my trip, just give me some time to remember to bring it to this house (they only have internet in the winter house). The brother and the dad here dont speak English so its harder to communicate with them, but we make it work. The other day, the dads asked me where I lived and him and Silvia failed at saying "Massachusetts." It made me laugh :P
Today was my first day of school! I couldnt understand anything teachers said, but the students in my class are very friendly, so I hope that I will have friends soon. The problem is I have issues remembering the names. Even though school is on Saturday.. that day I have 2 hours of english! Che facile! :) When I first got to school I was standing around in the little square thing of the school with another exchange student from hong kong. Eventually, all the freshman were standing there as the teacher called them into whichever class they would be in. Then, the english teacher gets up and takes the microphone and says EMILYYY! to the ENTIRE freshman class. I think she said something to introduce me, but I was absolutely mortified. I had already felt like my stomach was going to leap out my mouth at any second and/or barf from nerves, and that moment of course didnt help. I got to go with the freshman to their english class and it was the most boring/easiest thing ever. After that I went to my real class. It started out with Spanish and the teacher speaking spanish to me confused me out of my mind.... I was just sitting in the class like WHAT LANGUAGE DO I SPEAK???? Eventually I got my head on straight and was understanding more until the Italian teacher comes in and then nothing from there.
Today is the dads birthday so I am going to give him a Red Sox shirt. :) Hopefully he will like it.
I hope everything is well at home and I love you all!
A Italia!
The flag in the bottom right is where I am!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Finally in Italia!
Hey everyone!
I have a lot to share since I last wrote. Im here finally after a long journey. The american AFS students had an orientation in New York for a day and then we left for Italy on Thursday. Our flight went from NYC (JFK airport) to Zurich (a 8 hour flight), we were in Zurich for 4 hours and then from Zurich we went to Roma! I dont think any of us Americans slept on the first flight... and of course on the next one I fell asleep, hoping to wake up in time to see us fly over the alps but I slept too long! :( In Rome things went smoothly, my bags were all there, and I didnt have to wait in any long lines. It was great!
Turns out we weren't staying in a hotel in Rome at all. We took a 2 hour bus ride to our hostel, but since the hostel was on a hill you could see Rome from the top (I think it was Rome) and it was beauutiful! The americans were a day late for the supposed to be 2 day orientation because of travel problems, but I'd have to say that day that we were actually was one of the most amazing days of my life. When I walked outside of my room I could find people of every kind. I met people from Chile, Argentina, Swedan, Denmark, Finland, Alaska, India, Germany, and many more! It was so great because most of them spoke english (better than Italian). Events like this really make you realize everyone is the same... except, of course, for their customs.
The next day we took the train from Rome to Lecce, and I got to practice a little Italian with a lady sitting nearby. I sat near an American girl, and a Danish and Swedish guy who were all also going to Lecce. We talked a lot, the guys watched southpark, and it was a very interesting ride learning about all the differences and similarites between the countries. They taught me and the other american girl the "Scandanavian Pose." :P
When the train pulled into Lecce (where my host family met me), I was probably the most nervous Ive ever been in my entire life. The family is great though! :D
I have a lot to share since I last wrote. Im here finally after a long journey. The american AFS students had an orientation in New York for a day and then we left for Italy on Thursday. Our flight went from NYC (JFK airport) to Zurich (a 8 hour flight), we were in Zurich for 4 hours and then from Zurich we went to Roma! I dont think any of us Americans slept on the first flight... and of course on the next one I fell asleep, hoping to wake up in time to see us fly over the alps but I slept too long! :( In Rome things went smoothly, my bags were all there, and I didnt have to wait in any long lines. It was great!
Turns out we weren't staying in a hotel in Rome at all. We took a 2 hour bus ride to our hostel, but since the hostel was on a hill you could see Rome from the top (I think it was Rome) and it was beauutiful! The americans were a day late for the supposed to be 2 day orientation because of travel problems, but I'd have to say that day that we were actually was one of the most amazing days of my life. When I walked outside of my room I could find people of every kind. I met people from Chile, Argentina, Swedan, Denmark, Finland, Alaska, India, Germany, and many more! It was so great because most of them spoke english (better than Italian). Events like this really make you realize everyone is the same... except, of course, for their customs.
The next day we took the train from Rome to Lecce, and I got to practice a little Italian with a lady sitting nearby. I sat near an American girl, and a Danish and Swedish guy who were all also going to Lecce. We talked a lot, the guys watched southpark, and it was a very interesting ride learning about all the differences and similarites between the countries. They taught me and the other american girl the "Scandanavian Pose." :P
When the train pulled into Lecce (where my host family met me), I was probably the most nervous Ive ever been in my entire life. The family is great though! :D
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Tomorrow's the Day!
It's my last day here in Marshfield and I've just finished packing! I spent about 30 minutes taking stuff out of my bag/moving things between bags to fit the weight requirement. I'm allowed one checked back (up to 44 pounds) and one carry on bag (up to 22 pounds). I think I've managed to have exactly those weights for both bags :\ Hopefully I weighed correctly. Now I'm just sitting around enjoying some oreos and later some friends are coming by to say goodbye. Today was a lot more relaxing than I had thought since I finished most of the major packing last night... Now I wait... Just one more day! :D
Monday, August 17, 2009
La mia scuola (my school)
Here's some information about the school I'll be going to. It's in Maglie (the neighboring city to Cutrofiano) and it has students and thats about all I know about it! =P The way they do school there is that there are "tracks" as I think they call them, so you pick a track that focuses on what one's interests are (arts, languages, math and science, etc). I have no clue yet which track I'm going to be put on, but all the tracks as I have seen offer the courses that I need to graduate here in the U.S. Here's the website for the school (if you can read Italian) and if you need you can use Google translator, enter the URL, and it translate the site for you :) http://www.liceocapece.it/
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Waiting...
I'm finally getting close to getting my visa! Last week my dad and I went to the Italian consulate in Boston only to find out we've done everything right, but I couldn't get my visa yet. We had all the papers and documents needed, but my name was not on "the list." We got all the documents checked and signed and what not but we still have to wait for my name to be on this "list." Hopefully I will be able to get it soon.
I'm due to leave in just about three and a half weeks. On September 9th I have to be in New York City for my one day orientation and then on the 10th is my red-eye flight to Zurich (where I'm connecting) and then finally to Rome on the 11th (creepy and sad day to be on a plane, huh?). After that the students going to Italy and I have a two night orientation in Rome before going to Cutrofiano on that Sunday (school starts the next day on Monday! :O ) I'm extremely excited to go and the waiting is obnoxious! But, at the same time now's my time to relax before I have to start thinking and going to school in another language. It's pretty crazy to think that in about a little less than a month's time I'll be meeting my host family and I can't wait! :)
For those of you who don't know, Cutrofiano is a small town of about 10,000 people in Puglia (which is a region of Italy on the spike of Italy's boot across the Adriatic Sea from Albania and Greece). The closest well known city is Naples which is probably a day's drive to get to. The beach isn't too far away but not too close either. I have no clue yet how I'm getting to Cutrofiano from Rome... but I guess it'll keep me in suspense =P
Ciao a tutti! (Goodbye everyone)
I'm due to leave in just about three and a half weeks. On September 9th I have to be in New York City for my one day orientation and then on the 10th is my red-eye flight to Zurich (where I'm connecting) and then finally to Rome on the 11th (creepy and sad day to be on a plane, huh?). After that the students going to Italy and I have a two night orientation in Rome before going to Cutrofiano on that Sunday (school starts the next day on Monday! :O ) I'm extremely excited to go and the waiting is obnoxious! But, at the same time now's my time to relax before I have to start thinking and going to school in another language. It's pretty crazy to think that in about a little less than a month's time I'll be meeting my host family and I can't wait! :)
For those of you who don't know, Cutrofiano is a small town of about 10,000 people in Puglia (which is a region of Italy on the spike of Italy's boot across the Adriatic Sea from Albania and Greece). The closest well known city is Naples which is probably a day's drive to get to. The beach isn't too far away but not too close either. I have no clue yet how I'm getting to Cutrofiano from Rome... but I guess it'll keep me in suspense =P
Ciao a tutti! (Goodbye everyone)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Pre-Traveling Abroad
Hello everyone!
I just finished my application for my AFS exchange a few weeks ago. I am very excited to (hopefully) be participating on an AFS Italy exchange, starting in Fall 2009 and lasting until June 2010. There is a lot on my mind as I prepare to study abroad. I've had to make time in my busy life to finish the application and also making sure everything is going and getting in smoothly. Also, once my country choice of Italy is finalized I'm intending to take an Italian language class. As for right now, I have some books I got off of amazon.com that are helping to teach me a little Italian. I've also had to talk to my guidance counselor frequently to organize my credits so my exchange doesn't affect my graduation date. I'm nervous about speaking a whole new language 24/7, living with a new family, and making new friends in a new country. However, I'm also extremely excited about all those things too. It will be a whole new adventure and challenge to live abroad in a foreign country. I'm thrilled to meet new people who have a different culture from my own. I find it fascinating to learn about how people in other countries live. I am hoping that by the end of my exchange I will have learned a new language, made some new friends, matured, and to have some great memories. :-) However, in order to become I'm AFSer I have had to make some sacrifices. Since I am missing a year of school I'm probably going to have to double up on some of my classes in order to get enough credits for gradution. Also, I will have no class rank or just a really bad GPA because of the way my school does the weighted GPA. I'm also sad about leaving my family and my friends... but looking forward to making new friends in my host country! I decided to do my exchange in high school instead of college because I get the opportunity to go leave with a family and be fully immersed in the culture with lots of help from AFS. Also, I believe this experience will help me in my college life as well as to help me get into college. After much discussion my family and friends are very helpful and supportive of my decision, though they are sad to see me go. Looking forward to keeping you updated on what's going on with my AFS exchange!! :-)
I just finished my application for my AFS exchange a few weeks ago. I am very excited to (hopefully) be participating on an AFS Italy exchange, starting in Fall 2009 and lasting until June 2010. There is a lot on my mind as I prepare to study abroad. I've had to make time in my busy life to finish the application and also making sure everything is going and getting in smoothly. Also, once my country choice of Italy is finalized I'm intending to take an Italian language class. As for right now, I have some books I got off of amazon.com that are helping to teach me a little Italian. I've also had to talk to my guidance counselor frequently to organize my credits so my exchange doesn't affect my graduation date. I'm nervous about speaking a whole new language 24/7, living with a new family, and making new friends in a new country. However, I'm also extremely excited about all those things too. It will be a whole new adventure and challenge to live abroad in a foreign country. I'm thrilled to meet new people who have a different culture from my own. I find it fascinating to learn about how people in other countries live. I am hoping that by the end of my exchange I will have learned a new language, made some new friends, matured, and to have some great memories. :-) However, in order to become I'm AFSer I have had to make some sacrifices. Since I am missing a year of school I'm probably going to have to double up on some of my classes in order to get enough credits for gradution. Also, I will have no class rank or just a really bad GPA because of the way my school does the weighted GPA. I'm also sad about leaving my family and my friends... but looking forward to making new friends in my host country! I decided to do my exchange in high school instead of college because I get the opportunity to go leave with a family and be fully immersed in the culture with lots of help from AFS. Also, I believe this experience will help me in my college life as well as to help me get into college. After much discussion my family and friends are very helpful and supportive of my decision, though they are sad to see me go. Looking forward to keeping you updated on what's going on with my AFS exchange!! :-)
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